TY - JOUR
AU - Cutler,David M.
AU - Deaton,Angus S.
AU - Lleras-Muney,Adriana
TI - The Determinants of Mortality
JF - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL - No. 11963
PY - 2006
Y2 - January 2006
DO - 10.3386/w11963
UR - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11963
L1 - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11963.pdf
N1 - Author contact info:
David M. Cutler
Department of Economics
Harvard University
1875 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/496-5216
Fax: 617/496-8951
E-Mail: dcutler@harvard.edu
Angus Deaton
361 Wallace Hall
Woodrow Wilson School
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544-1013
Tel: 609/258-5967
Fax: 609/258-5974
E-Mail: deaton@princeton.edu
Adriana Lleras-Muney
Department of Economics
9373 Bunche Hall
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Tel: 310/825-3925
Fax: NA
E-Mail: alleras@ECON.UCLA.EDU
AB - Mortality rates have fallen dramatically over time, starting in a few countries in the 18th century, and continuing to fall today. In just the past century, life expectancy has increased by over 30 years. At the same time, mortality rates remain much higher in poor countries, with a difference in life expectancy between rich and poor countries of also about 30 years. This difference persists despite the remarkable progress in health improvement in the last half century, at least until the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In both the time-series and the cross-section data, there is a strong correlation between income per capita and mortality rates, a correlation that also exists within countries, where richer, better-educated people live longer. We review the determinants of these patterns: over history, over countries, and across groups within countries. While there is no consensus about the causal mechanisms, we tentatively identify the application of scientific advance and technical progress (some of which is induced by income and facilitated by education) as the ultimate determinant of health. Such an explanation allows a consistent interpretation of the historical, cross-country, and within-country evidence. We downplay direct causal mechanisms running from income to health.
ER -